AUSTRALIA DAY AMBASSADORS ANNOUNCED FOR 2017

Fashion designer Charlie Brown, radio and TV broadcaster Paul Murray and community leader, Dr Jamal Rifi are among a raft of high-achieving Australians announced today as 2017 Australia Day Ambassadors by the Australia Day Council of NSW (ADCNSW).

This Australia Day, communities across New South Wales will celebrate what it means to be Australian with more than 130 much-loved Australians including sporting, entertainment, lifestyle and arts personalities.

Having grown from just nine Ambassadors in 1990, the Australia Day Ambassador program provides an opportunity for communities to share Australia Day celebrations with some of our most inspirational and influential individuals.

Olympians, Paralympians, country singers, actors, television presenters and other personalities all feature in the 2017 Ambassador Program line-up.

“New South Wales is home to some of this country’s best known personalities and through the Australia Day Ambassador Program, communities across our state have the opportunity to host and share Australia Day with icons of sport, media and the arts among other fields,” said Angelos Frangopoulos, chairman of the Australia Day Council of NSW.

Foodies can delight in sharing Australia Day with pâtissier and MasterChef star Adriano Zumbo in Nambucca, and celebrate among the vines in Cessnock with TV chief Lyndey Milan OAM or with My Kitchen Rules winners Sammy and Bella Jakubiak in Randwick.

Our sporting heroes will be out in force at communities across NSW, with 2016 Olympic Medallist Sharni Williams in Cumberland; 2016 Paralympic medallists Amanda Reid in Dubbo and Tiffany Tomas Kane at Willoughby; plus former Sydney Swans great Jude Bolton in Lane Cove.

Among the newcomers this year are Saba Vasefi, Fletcher Pilon and Kyle Vander-Kuyp,while some familiar favourites will return, including actress Noeline Brown in Yass Valley, TV presenter and horticulturalist Don Burke OAM in Bayside, and singer and entertainer Lorrae Desmond MBE at Canada Bay.

With this year’s Australia Day theme Australia Day – Everyone, Everywhere, the Australia Day Ambassadors will look beyond community borders to demonstrate how Australia Day is celebrated across the world, encouraging people to go online and share their celebrations using the hashtag #AustraliaDay.

Whether it’s a barbecue with friends and family, a day on Sydney Harbour or some backyard cricket, our Australia Day ambassadors will tell the story of the many unique and special ways in which Australians celebrate. Images and bios can be downloaded from www.australiaday.com.au